Editorial: Emerging and reemerging plant viruses in a context of global change

Emerging and reemerging plant diseases can be defined as those diseases caused by new or reappearing pathogens which, due to their intrinsic characteristics, have the ability to spread rapidly and cause epidemics in certain agro-climatic contexts. In recent years, both DNA and RNA viruses have been implicated in important disease outbreaks in plants. The different forms of mutation, recombination and other types of genetic exchange, considered as the basis of the evolutionary forces of viruses, have undoubtedly given rise tothe genetic diversity found in plant virus populations. In this context, environmental factors play an important role in driving virus evolution. In addition, the rapid expansion of human activity in the world of commerce, agriculture, anthropization of natural ecosystems and climate change have further contributed to the instability between hosts and virus populations, favouring the emergence of viruses with mutant and/or recombinant forms, with potentially negative impacts on plants, vectors and ecosystems.